N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall to serve as 2015 commencement speaker for Campbell Law

North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall will deliver the commencement address at Campbell Law School’s 37th annual hooding and graduation ceremony on Friday, May 8, 2015. The celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh.

“I am incredibly honored to be giving the address this year,” said Marshall. “Obtaining my law degree from Campbell has allowed me to reach a level of public service I once thought I could never achieve,” she added. “Campbell gave me the skills and knowledge to become a successful attorney, plus its sterling reputation pushed away some barriers for me before I had to confront them on my own.”

A 1981 graduate of Campbell Law, Marshall was the first woman ever elected to a state-wide, executive branch office in North Carolina. She has served as the N.C. Secretary of State since 1997.

“Elaine Marshall has been a fantastic servant to the citizens of North Carolina, as well as an engaged, caring, and giving alumna of our law school,” said Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard. “I could not be more excited to have my dear friend address our graduating class on this most special occasion.”

Marshall has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in state and local politics. From 1993-94 she served as a senator from North Carolina’s 15 District and was the Harnett County Democratic Party Chair and president of the Democratic Women of Harnett County. She was also the National Secretary of the Young Democrats of America in the 1970s.

Prior to her political career, Marshall was a partner at Marshall & Marshall and Bain & Marshall in nearby Lillington. She has also served as a teacher, co-owner of a book and gift store, and owner of an interior design firm.

Marshall has served on numerous boards and commissions, including as President of the National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council, Member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), and Chair of the National E-Notarization Standards Commission which set the nation-wide standards for notaries public using digital signatures. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the NASS National Business Identity Theft Task Force.

Marshall has been honored with numerous awards and accolades throughout her illustrious career, including the 4-H Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the North Carolina Association of Educators Women's Equality Award, and the Triangle Business Journal’s 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Business. In October 2014 Marshall will be honored with Campbell University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

In May 2008 Marshall delivered the 122nd commencement address at Campbell University and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Marshall has also received honorary doctorates from Lees-McRae College, Meredith College, and the Republic of Moldova Testemitanu State University of Medicine.